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Trivia: Musical Terms

Subject : trivia
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. Short detached notes - as opposed to legato.






2. A direction to play lively and fast.






3. A rhythmic succession of musical tones - a melody for instruments and voices.






4. A musical composition that has a romantic or dreamy character with nocturnal associations.






5. Pertaining to the sonata form - a fast movement in triple time.






6. The tonal characteristics determined by the relationship of the notes to the tone.






7. A repeating phrase that is played at the end of each verse in the song.






8. A composition written for eight instruments.






9. The frequency of a note determining how high or low it sounds.






10. A symbol indicating to play loud.






11. A song or hymn celebrating Christmas.






12. One who directs a group of performers. The conductor indicates the tempo - phrasing - dynamics - and style by gestures and facial expressions.






13. A piece of music written for two vocalists or instrumentalists.






14. A mild glissando between two notes for an expressive effect.






15. Pleasing combination of two or three tones played together in the background while a melody is being played. Harmony also refers to the study of chord progressions.






16. Where the musical themes and melodies are developed - written in sonata form.






17. Atonal and violent style used as a means of evoking heightened emotions and states of mind.






18. String instruments that are picked instead of bowed.






19. The element of music pertaining to time - played as a grouping of notes into accented and unaccented beats.






20. Suite of Baroque dances.






21. Direction to performer to play a composition in a brisk - lively - and spirited manner.






22. The retuning of a stringed instrument in order to play notes below the ordinary range of the instrument or to produce an usual tone color.






23. A melodic or - sometimes a harmonic idea presented in a musical form.






24. Passage for the entire ensemble or orchestra without a soloist.






25. A sequence of chords that brings an end to a phrase - either in the middle or the end of a composition.






26. Word to indicate that the movement or entire composition is to be played smoothly.






27. Word to indicate that the movement or entire composition is to be played smoothly.






28. Creating variation pitch in a note by quickly alternating between notes.






29. Word to indicate the movement or entire composition is to be played very slow and serious.






30. A musical scale having five notes.For example: the five black keys of a keyboard make up a pentatonic scale.






31. Primary theme or subject that is developed.






32. A successive transposition and repetition of a phrase at different pitches.






33. A set of five musicians who perform a composition written for five parts.






34. Indicating speed.






35. A direction to play lively and fast.






36. A harmonic given off by a note when it is played.






37. A period in history during the 18th and early 19th centuries where the focus shifted from the neoclassical style to an emotional - expressive - and imaginative style.






38. Successive notes of a key or mode either ascending or descending.






39. A style of male singing where by partial use of the vocal chords - the voice is able to reach the pitch of a female.






40. A hymn sung by the choir and congregation often in unison.






41. The principal note of a triad.






42. Two or three melodic lines played at the same time.






43. A composition written for three voices and instruments performed by three people






44. A line in a contrapuntal work performed by an individual voice or instrument.






45. Eight full tones above the key note where the scale begins and ends.






46. A rhythmic succession of musical tones - a melody for instruments and voices.






47. A glissando or portamento. Also refers to the moving part of a trombone.






48. Sliding between two notes.






49. Pertaining to the fugue - the overlapping of the same theme or motif by two or more voices a few beats apart.






50. The highest female voice.






Can you answer 50 questions in 15 minutes?



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